The guys at The Mill treated us to a super interesting presentation on 3D commercials yesterday. I guess now that movie-goers can count on blockbuster commercials cluttering their cinema experience, and now that more movie studios are counting on 3D to ensure they make their money back in this economy, it’s no surprise people like us have to start coming up with 3D commercials.

Not to mention early-adopter types can now buy 3D TVs for a small fortune. And I guess a few networks are actually broadcasting in 3D. Is all of this for real?

For the entirety of my childhood, the only 3D to enjoy could be found at science museums and theme parks. Where did 3D go for all those years? People predicted TV would eventually be 3D, giant wall-sized screens, or holographic figures right there in your living room. Has the future arrived? I just don’t know how seriously to take these latest developments. Can we really imagine a world where the kids are gathered around the TV after school adorned like Buddy Holly; mom chopping onions for dinner crosseyed through her 3D glasses on the off chance she’ll want to glance up at the TV? Imagine the headaches, imagine the number of 6 year olds needing contacts. Craziness.

Maybe I’m just not an early adopter, but a curmudgeon who likes a good old-fashioned 2D commercial. But from what we learned yesterday, 3D is off and running. ESPN evidently aired the World Cup in 3D (I wasn’t aware) but hilariously they had to run the same 2 commercials over and over. Which is where we come in. The world needs more 3D commercials.

Sounds feasible. They can either take a commercial you’ve already made and cut out all the layers to make it seem 3D. Kind of like rotoscoping (click here for a nice example of rotoscoping). But you have to have a sweat shop of interns, and it’s really time-consuming and expensive. Or, you can hire 3D experts next time you shoot, and they can figure out where to put the dual cameras and use math and science to play tricks on your eyes. It might add about 50% extra time and money, but at least all the people with 3D TVs will see your commercial (amongst very few others commercials) and you can tell your grandkids you were one of the first.